Just a Farie Tale
by aquajogger
Summary: Rath sees the world through a jaded screen. But then comes one unforgettable month. Events can change the way you see, and when one is searching for a lost self, well, anything can happen. AU RxC
1. Lost in a Dream,

It really makes you wonder about my sanity. I get on a Dragon Knights kick and start yet another new story. Oh, joy, will this be non-stressful. --; I'm sorry to anyone reading my Gundam Wing story. It's not that I've forgotten it, simply that I'm stuck in Dragon Knights mode and have been for a while now. Starting a new story probably isn't the smartest thing to do since I will be leaving for a trip in a little less than a month. Oh well.  
  
Fairy Tale Faerie requested RathxCesia, and this story line popped into my head. Here you go!   
  
Reviews are welcomed.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. I also don't own the song lyrics I added in here. They are from a song called 100 Years(to Live) by Five for Fighting. I'd have to give credit for this chapter to Love Hina(First scene sound a little familiar anyone?), Fairy Tale Faerie for the RxC inspiration, my mom for making me get her this song, and Kat for making me RP as Rath today. Thanks, all!   
  
I'm 15 for a moment  
  
A little boy, features still round from his young age, large dark eyes standing out like glimmering stars in his fair face stood on the front step of a small town house.  
  
Caught in between 10 and 20  
  
It was a chilly winter morning, a thin layer of snow lay spread out over the grassy lawn before him. He was wearing a white jacket over a faded red shirt and a pair of black pants.  
  
And I'm just dreaming  
  
He had his arms wrapped around himself, shivering from the cold. A strange lock of white fell into his face from his black hair, and partially obscured the glistening wetness shining there.  
  
Counting the ways to where you are   
  
The child sniffed softly, biting his lip in an effort to prevent the tears from coming. A stinging, salty fire burned behind his eyes, beating at the thin resistance he had against it.  
  
I'm 22 for a moment  
  
As the strange and flaming liquid snuck through the weakened cracks and leaked out, a feeling of fierce anger and despair crept over him, leaving behind a lingering bitter aftertaste. He furiously rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, erasing all traces of the tears from his face.  
  
She feels better than ever  
  
In the crook of his left arm he held a toy; a small stuffed creature, lizard-like in appearance, with two finely crafted wings, and a pair of minute black beads for eyes. He squeezed it tighter in his grasp, it's crimson cloth standing out against his white clad arms. The small dragon crushed in his grip, he kept his unsteady gaze on the paved road in front of his house.  
  
And we're on fire  
  
A dog whined. He turned around, spotting a large white animal standing beside him, almost as tall as he was, and just inside the warmth of the house, ears pricked forward, and looking at him with large brown eyes.  
  
Making our way back from Mars   
  
Red-brown eyes devoured the shooting silver sparks floating in the air, turning in on themselves into an empty colorless void.  
  
The boy spoke.  
  
"Crewger..."  
  
The word was the pitiful whimpering of a baby bird, abandoned and lying on the ground, still unable to fly. The mournful cry of a sailor adrift in a large ocean and hopelessly lost under the fearful clock of a pitch-black night, void of all stars. Without another word, the dog stepped forward. It slowly padded up to the small boy and stood still as he knelt down and buried his face in it's long and silky fur.  
  
15 there's still time for you  
  
"I don't want her to go," He sobbed, the words coming out muffled as he pressed his face harder into his dog's side, thin arms snaking around and grasping on to the warm animal as if onto a lifeline. Crewger rubbed the side of the boy's face with the soft fur covering his head, and gave him a reassuring lick, tail wagging feebly.  
  
Time to buy and time to lose  
  
As warm tears dampened the fur of the dog in his grip, the child suddenly pulled back. He hurriedly scrubbed the tears from his face and stood up, ignoring his stuffed toy as it lay dejected on the ground, and placed a small hand on the dog's back. He turned around, an expression of serene and detached calm now precariously positioned upon his face, and he looked at the snow-dampened road.  
  
15, there's never a wish better than this  
  
There was a car there, an old gray toyota, with a man behind the wheel, and a woman sitting next to him. A young girl was in the back seat, almost hidden among the luggage. As he stood there, the door to the back of the car opened and she got out, tugging on a light blue jacket over her black dress.  
  
"Rath!" She called to him in her high childish voice, running across the snow on his front lawn and climbing up the five steps to where he stood, looking down upon her, surprise written over his features.  
  
When you only got 100 years to live   
  
"Rath," She said again, long black hair flowing behind her as she stood at the top of the stairs, looking into his eyes, as her own shone with unspilled tears. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by her sudden embrace, her small arms wrapping around his tiny frame. Her head fell onto his shoulder, and, uncomfortable and uncertain, he slowly placed his own arms around her body as well, gently holding on to her, too surprised to let his own wet tears fall as he stared at her crying figure.  
  
I'm 33 for a moment  
  
"I' 'sok," He whispered, scouring his short memory for any other time he had seen his friend cry. She looked up at him, streaks made by tears running down her face.  
  
"Rath," She pulled back from him, tearing open a pocket on her periwinkle jacket and digging through it franticly. A honk from the car nearby sounded, killing the somber silence where it slept undisturbed, and causing both of them to jump in surprise. The small girl gave him an weak apologetic smile, then quickly resumed her search.  
  
Still the man, but you see I'm a they  
  
As yet another honk from the car sounded, she triumphantly pulled out a small object; a shiny black amulet, about three inches in height, and swinging on a long black string.  
  
A kid on the way  
  
"Here," Her breath created a cloud in front of her face as she hastily looped the silken cord around his neck, then launched into a rapid explanation, backing up slowly to the car as she spoke.  
  
A family on my mind  
  
"It's a Dragon Amulet, Rath! Remember? That way, you'll be safe. Don't worry, I have one too, just like yours. Don't loose it, Rath! It'll all be ok now." She said, almost halfway across his lawn as she finished her sentence.  
  
"And don't you dare forget me!" A flicker of her old firey spirit shone out, drowning out her sorrow for one brief second.  
  
I'm 45 for a moment  
  
She was a few feet away from her ride by this point, and Rath caught a glimpse of a long white hand coming down mercilessly on the car's horn yet again, the harsh sound mingling with a few strands of music floating through the cold day, as he first became consciously aware of the sound.  
  
The sea is high  
  
She turned around and ran the last few feet to the vehicle, dark hair flying behind her. Rath watched as she clambered unassisted into the back seat of the Toyota, pulled the door closed behind her, then was harshly yanked out of his life by a small gray car, speeding away, never to return.  
  
A single flake of snow fell upon his upturned face, the biting cold etching its forlorn scream into his soft skin.  
  
And I'm heading into a crisis  
  
The small boy reached up with his right hand, closing it tightly around the cool metal object strung around his neck. No vow was needed; he would never forget her, no matter what. That was his inner promise. His soul scoffing at the idea of doing so, of forgetting, or of needing mere words to seal that truth and keep it fresh .  
  
Chasing the years of my life  
  
He stood on his doorstep, soft flakes of snow falling down around him, the angles of his vision spinning around him like a swirling white vortex, the now louder cry of sound pounding into his mind. As his sight flickered around him, the scenery took on a certain brightness, one that was common from his childhood years, but that had been lost in the slow and painful process called growing up. All the colors stood out vividly amidst the backdrop of his imagination, a hundred thousand voices all beckoning to him invitingly.  
  
It was to be the last time he saw the world through the untarnished window of youth, complete with pure and simple joy, for a long time to come.  
  
15 there's still time for you Time to buy, Time to lose yourself Within a morning star 15 I'm all right with you 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live   
  
With a start, a black haired older boy sat straight up in bed, one hand grasping a small object on a string around his neck. Glowing red numbers on the clock next to his bed read 7:35.  
  
Half time goes by  
  
He shoved back the thin white sheet covering his body and slid soundlessly out of bed, stepping down onto a white carpet and walking across his room, ignoring his radio blaring it's music in it's morning tradition, it's only way of getting the young man out of bed.  
  
Suddenly you're wise  
  
He stretched, lean muscles shifting under a loose black tank top and a pair of similarly colored pants.  
  
Another blink of an eye  
  
Walking across the small bedroom, he entered an adjourning bathroom, quietly pulling the door shut behind him. A dust-covered crimson dragon stared at it with beaded eyes from it's lonely position on top of a nearby bookshelf.  
  
67 is gone  
  
The sound of a shower turning on and then running over a human body floated out of the room, mingling with the tune on it's journey around the boy's room.  
  
The sun is getting high  
  
The shower turned off and a faucet started running, accompioning the noises already existing. His bedroom door was nudged open by a white dog, its steps were the slow waltz of age. It's shoulder barely reached midway up the bed used by the lone resident of the room.  
  
We're moving on...  
  
The bathroom door opened and out stepped a teenaged boy, dark hair mostly under control, except for a small section of white standing out in the mass of black. Eyes dark and deep with hidden emotion were set in a fair and slim face, framed by locks of midnight hair.  
  
I'm 99 for a moment  
  
He was wearing a pair of long and slightly faded black pants, a long sleeved black shirt thrown on over it, plain with an embroidered silver cross on the middle of his chest.  
  
Dying for just another moment  
  
Reaching over to the table next to his bed, he pressed a small red button on his alarm clock, signaling the halt of the music. Although the melodic sound no longer vibrated off the whitewashed walls of his room, the sound still echoed in his mind.  
  
And I'm just dreaming  
  
"Rath!"  
  
A glance at the dog staring at him with solemn brown eyes, even less for the stuffed toy on his shelf, and the boy was out the door, sprinting through already abandoned hallways.  
  
Counting the ways to where you are  
  
"Rath Illuser!" The cinnamon flavored voice rang out again. It belonged to someone of about the same age, male, friendly, and with a trace of optimism lingering around it's resilient edges.  
  
15 there's still time for you  
  
Rath reached the thick wooden door at the front of his house. He paused and quickly ran a hand through his black locks, smoothing them down. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, he schooled his expression into the one of the carefree boy he used to be.  
  
22 I feel her too  
  
Joking grin secured firmly on his face, he opened the door, hoping that just for one more day no one would notice that his smile never reached his glacier eyes. That no one would see past his defensive barrier to the small boy trapped underneath, standing on a doorstep, lost and slowly becoming jaded.  
  
33 you're on your way  
  
One jump took him down the steps outside his door, backpack and all. Feet crushing small green blades of grass, he sprinted across the patch of lawn before him, stopping when he reached the two boys waiting for him on the sidewalk, standing in the cool early morning air.  
  
Every day's a new day...  
  
"Hey, Rath. What took you so long?"  
  
He fell into step alongside the other two.  
  
"Sorry. Just ran out of time."  
  
15 there's still time for you Time to buy and time to choose Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live  
  
There, the opening scene! I really like that song, if you haven't been able to tell. I mean, I bought it yesterday, only started listening to it today as I was writting the end half of this chapter, and played it 40 times. The other chapters won't be done like this, with the flashbacks and lyrics, I just wanted to set the stage for the plot and this seemed to work pretty well. I'll still be working on my other stories, no fear. Just now I have something else to distract myself with. Whoopee. Review please! -Allyson  
  



	2. Seeing Through a Memory,

(a/n: Ok, good news and bad news... The good news is that I have  
  
updated BOTH of my DK stories this week! The bad news is that this may  
  
be the last time I update before the end of July. You see, I'm going on a  
  
six week trip on the fifth, and won't have a chance to write. Sorry, all. I'll  
  
try and see if I can get another chapter out on one of my stories, but no  
  
promises.)  
  
Whoa! Reviews! O.o;  
  
Ginsing1: Now, now, darling, pot is bad. I swear I'll update ALL of my  
  
other stories! ...Sometime.(And thanks.gives Spanish text book as a  
  
present)  
  
Parain:nods But don't tell Rath that. ;)  
  
Kat: Rath reminds me of you, ya know? Cesia, too. Queen of church?  
  
Somehow, I just can't picture that.  
  
Garfunkles: HANNAH!glomps You reviewed! I will update. And you said  
  
you would read my other stuff too! Go!points  
  
Angel Cesia: Ok, here we go. Updated!  
  
Nenagh24: Thank you! I love those lyrics too!  
  
START  
  
The dull pencil gray of the sky loomed menacingly overhead as the three  
  
boys made their way to the local high school, two of them talking  
  
animatedly, and the third standing a little off to the side, walking in  
  
downcast silence. They were walking along the sidewalk on the side of  
  
the road, the dirty cement damp with the light rain that had fallen the  
  
previous night.  
  
Rath watched as Thats, the slightly taller and more spontaneous of his  
  
two companions jumped into a large puddle, laughing as it sprayed the  
  
other with a stream of dirty water.  
  
"Thats!" The other boy yelled, somehow managing to jerk out of the way  
  
just in time, "Watch it!"  
  
There was no visible reaction on Rath's face as Thats offered a weak  
  
apology, laughing all the while.  
  
The fake smile remained plastered on. There was nothing else to do.  
  
There was never anything else to do.  
  
There hadn't been anything else to do.  
  
A buzzing noise in the back of his head caused him to stumble, one hand  
  
reaching up and clasping tightly around a small object, hidden beneath  
  
dark folds of clothing.  
  
"Hey, Rath!" A lightly tanned hand clamped onto his shoulder, steadying  
  
him as he straightened back up, silence reigning supreme once again.  
  
He turned towards the person, and found himself staring into a pair of  
  
moss green eyes, flecked with brown and shining with mirth and a touch  
  
of deep rooted concern.  
  
Rath allowed a question to flit out of his fake being, alighting with the  
  
softest grace over his pretend grin.  
  
"Yeah? What is it?" In the dew-washed morning calm, the minute metal  
  
gears could almost be heard as they swiftly turned inside their delicate  
  
butterfly case.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
He nodded, hurt and grateful when the other boy turned away, allowing  
  
him to slip back into his deadened silence.  
  
Watching through a thin gray veil, he saw Thats run a few steps, catching  
  
up to the eldest of the trio, and walk backwards, keeping a few steps  
  
ahead of the other boy, his hands clasped behind his head.  
  
A filtered noise of chatter made it's way through the muffled shield that  
  
surrounded Rath, dampening his senses and drawing a misty silver fog  
  
over his eyes.  
  
"Those exchange students are coming today, right, Rune?"  
  
The blonde boy nodded, long golden locks waving in the light breeze.  
  
The exchange student program had been present at their school for many  
  
years. Every year, in the fourth quarter, ten students, five girls and five  
  
boys, were sent to their sister school in a nearby state, and ten students  
  
from that school would join theirs for two weeks.  
  
"Yes. They should be at school already. As should we," He looked  
  
distinctly rumpled, "If we weren't always so late."  
  
Thats laughed, the rich sound barely penetrating the stone barrier  
  
around his black haired friend. The vibrations were caught and held in a  
  
teardrop of red shadow, the sound echoing off it's polished surfaces and  
  
doubling back upon itself to finally fold up into a small bead of gold,  
  
captured for a moment before discarded among the sands of time.  
  
"It's ok, Rune! We aren't late, not yet. School doesn't start for another  
  
twenty minutes. We still have plenty of time to get to class."  
  
As if to prove his point, they rounded a corner at that very moment, their  
  
school suddenly within sight, it's large beige buildings and grassy  
  
walkways taking up much of their view.  
  
"Hey," Thats turned to walk normally, tugging on Rune's sleeve, "Do you  
  
see her?"  
  
Rune followed his pointed finger, the line it drew landing neatly on a  
  
young girl, about their age.  
  
He turned away from the girl to face him, "Do you think she's one of the  
  
exchange students, Thats?"  
  
He nodded, "Yeah. Never seen her before. At least," He amended, "Not  
  
as far as I can remember."  
  
The older boy nodded, clear blue eyes finding their way back to her, to  
  
curiously absorb all they saw, storing the images away in neatly  
  
organized metal cabinets, categorized and labeled by subject.  
  
"Rath?" Rune looked over his shoulder at his friend, "Do you know her?"  
  
There was no reaction, if the boy actually heard them, he gave no  
  
indication that he did.  
  
The taller of the two teenagers in front backtracked by a few feet, until he  
  
was standing next to their quiet companion.  
  
"Rath," Thats snapped his fingers several times in front of the other's  
  
face, watching as something behind his eyes suddenly clicked, and he  
  
jerked his head up to look at him as opposed to staring at the ground.  
  
The smile was still attached.  
  
Thats rolled his eyes, sending polished two olivine stones spinning.  
  
"Honestly. I think you're deaf sometimes," He flashed a carefree grin,  
  
white teeth showing for a split second before they vanished once again  
  
behind lips a mere shade darker than their surrounding skin.  
  
"Rune wanted to know if you knew who she was," He said, gesturing  
  
over his shoulder vaguely.  
  
A mental sigh.  
  
Rath paused in his slow walking, craning his neck to peer around the two  
  
teenagers in front of him, the mists surrounding him spinning wildly in the  
  
light breeze passing by.  
  
Then the veil thinned, and he saw her.  
  
Directly in front of the main building was a fairly tall girl with long, light  
  
brown hair that reached midway down her back, and a fitted black dress,  
  
the uniform worn by the students at their sister school.  
  
Her figure was a mere outline against the faded gray backdrop, and Rath  
  
watched listlessly as she placed down her school bag, and slowly turned,  
  
looking over her shoulder, eyes like shards of midnight ice cutting through  
  
the tendrils of the cloying fog wrapped around the boy's senses.  
  
There was what Rath at first perceived to be a flash of blinding light, but  
  
later realized it was simply the light of day reaching his eyes.  
  
His protective wire mesh cage constricted as a jagged tear appeared in it, a  
  
small space no larger than a foot across, and completely unremarkable.  
  
Except that through it the world was seen in full color.  
  
And standing directly in-between the torn strips of disintegrating material  
  
was the figure of a young teenaged girl, one hand still on the strap of the  
  
bag lying beside her on the ground, large dark eyes calmly meeting his  
  
startled gaze.  
  
Her mouth twitched upwards into a half grin.  
  
Then she was turning around, walking away, her book bag slung over her  
  
shoulder once again.  
  
Rath jumped.  
  
"Rath?" His friend was talking again, a disoriented part of his mind stated,  
  
none of the other sections taking any note of it.  
  
"Rath, are you ok?"  
  
The voice was muted, muffled, almost silent.  
  
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.  
  
There it was again, it's harsh sound almost drowning out the other boy's voice.  
  
The buzzing.  
  
The screaming.  
  
The harsh tearing of a life from his tiny world.  
  
The sound of a dense sickly silver and purple cloud that reached down from the  
  
sky, scooping up and snatching away a small figure, huddled and shivering  
  
beneath a soft white cloth, drenched in the thick smell of fear.  
  
Forever...  
  
Rath stared straight ahead, not sure of what had happened.  
  
He knew one thing, however.  
  
When that girl had left...  
  
The window in his cage had vanished.  
  
END  
  
Don't worry. The cliché of exchange students is needed, just for a little  
  
while. It'll disappear soon enough.  
  
Review! 


	3. Watching the Dragons,

Kat: Ehehe... As you can see... I didn't get another one out, so glad you liked the stopping place.  
  
Ginsing1: Exams are bad. Happy no more exams! Yay! :looks down at pants leg: ...I'm back... You can let go of me now... Oh, and in response to your question, I suppose both. :thinking really hard: Yeah. I meant when she just turned around just now(Then? I don't know.), but your other answer worked also.  
  
Zahrah: Oh, that's good. Reviewers are so nice!  
  
Angel Cesia: Well, it isn't exactly soon... But it is updated!  
  
Hououza: Wow, love your name. It sounds so elegant... Thanks for reading, even though you didn't know the song. And yes, the series are similar, aren't they? I don't know Evangelion, but Gundam Wing and Dragon Knights are so similar, it's almost scary.  
  
Tsume Yamagata: Thanks for the author alert placement! I love your bio pics, the Kharl one and that other one from Inuyasha!  
  
Cesia Illuser: Ok, updated!   
  
Fairy Tale Faerie: I'm glad you like it! Thank you!!  
  
Charna: I was wondering, did you ever get the notice that I had Kat post on my bio(I wasn't able to log in while I was away...)? Basicly it said to pretend that the last chapter was done to "Here Without You". I don't know what this would go to, however, so I suppose it's good that I don't need to make this a songfic!  
  
Lisa: Hey! Hope you are having a great time in Singapore! I know... I wish that too...::sighs::  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights! I so wish I did. ...Actually, if I did, you would all be scared. Very scared. D  
  
A/N: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR RESPONDING TO MY NOTICE!!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!has started a strange chant  
  
And as you can see, I took down the notice early(I know it's against the rules, I don't bloody CARE if they take it down, and I've already been frozen once. What's one more time?), and decided to keep this the way it is, without song lyrics. I think I will use song lyrics again, but not for a long while(End chapter, maybe?). Anyway, I hope you are all pleased with the way this turned out, and that you didn't mind having to answer my question!  
  
-Ally  
  
The seats of the classroom were boringly arranged into four straight rows, each heading from the blackboard in the front to the poster-covered wall in the back.  
  
Still slightly distracted by the unusual events that had taken place earlier that day: first the dream, then the girl, Rath sat down in his seat, a wild storm of thoughts and emotions running rampant in his head.  
  
This was new.  
  
This strange feeling of awareness.  
  
Well, maybe that wasn't the right word.  
  
It wasn't awareness so much as... a feeling of a fragile glass shaker positioned on the edge of a swirling gully, and the sudden knowledge that something, someone, was coming, and that their nearing footsteps were slowly shaking the already disturbed ground, pushing the delicate piece further and further to an uncharted edge.  
  
And like all who travel through unknown waters, he wasn't sure what would spring out at him.  
  
He wasn't even sure, hadn't been sure for quite a while now, that his grip on reality wasn't slowly loosening.  
  
It could happen.  
  
God knew it had happened before.  
  
He shuddered mentally at the memory that sentence brought back. It was roughly cloaked in the worn shawl of time and the colors were faded with bygone years, but the strokes of this silken tapestry seemed as clear as day.  
  
As clear as day and as impossible as a falling star.  
  
And yet he didn't feel it was a dream, even though dreaming was the only logical explanation for it.  
  
After all, his train of thought went on, people don't just disappear.  
  
People don't up and vanish.  
  
Dragons can't fly.  
  
He gave his head a small, almost unnoticed shake, and settled his mind into a familiar and comforting void. A blankness, empty of unnecessary feeling or thought.  
  
Rath almost smiled as he felt the usual misted curtain close over him once more, shielding him from the outside hurt.  
  
And then he blinked. He leaned forward in his chair, getting a better look at the figure who just sat down in front of him.  
  
Her long hair fell past the dark material of her dress, and her plain rucksack sat on the floor next to her. She was chatting with the girl seated next to her, and was ignoring him completely, oblivious of his stare.  
  
Going against the mold he had worked himself into, the dark haired boy turned around in his seat where one of the few students who called himself Rath's "friend" sat.  
  
"Rune."  
  
The other boy looked at him strangely.  
  
It had been so long since Rath had initiated a conversation.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"That girl, the one in black, she's an exchange student?" Rune peered over the teenager's shoulder, looking around the room.  
  
"In the black dress. In front of me," Rath said again, the curved silver scythe of his messy hair standing out in it's surroundings of sharp feathered night.  
  
"The girl in front of you?" Rune looked confused, "Yes, she is an exchange student, but..." he trailed off, looking searchingly at his friend, "She isn't in black."  
  
Rath turned around, one hand coming up to wave aside a smoky tentacle that wrapped across his vision, and stopped short.  
  
Rune was right.  
  
He stared at the figure before him.  
  
She was the same girl, but was wearing a short white blouse and a knee length green plated skirt.  
  
A traditional school uniform.  
  
A spinning flash raced through his mind, a mental image of falling obliteration, of pale flakes of snow.  
  
He shut his eyes to block it out, and when he opened them a second later, he was stunned.  
  
There, sitting in front of him, was a girl in a fitted black dress. His familiar darkness seemed to fade away slightly, to allow fresh air through, to let a breath of wind breeze by, in the stress of this second disturbance within the past five minutes, before returning with it's full and sickeningly comoforting force.  
  
A word rattled through his mind, bouncing off pointed shards of enveloping mist and beaten silver.  
  
Two syllables repeating in an endless drive.  
  
Cesia.  
  
Cesia.  
  
Cesia.  
  
Cesia...  
  
Rath heard his own voice arguing with the droning monotony that poured through his world like liquid fire, etching their memory into all they touched and stirring up ancient and long forgotten phrases.  
  
And the one thing he found avalible as a protector from this wakeful reminder were three words that had become seemingly lodged deep within him, holding him down when a burst of time past seemed to stirr awake within him, dragging away the shroud.  
  
He heard his silent voice saying them in weak protest, watching as his life started to spin, all logic vanishing, but taking with it, the trailing shadow that surrounded him.  
  
"Dragons can't fly."  
  
A shimmer of glass hit the dark haired wanderer in the eye, shattering this dead phrase and the word that still drummed into the background.  
  
With a jerk, everything slid back to it's normal oppression.  
  
And the girl in front of him flipped her hair over a white-clad shoulder.  
  
---------  
  
God, I wish I was still able to use stars...::mutters::  
  
Anyway, REVIEW! I've FINALLY updated! Give me feedback!! 


	4. With Flames Circling 'Round

Kat: Thank you SO much for posting this for me!! And for buying the Sex

Boots.has named the boots, since, much like the Sex Boat and the Sex

String, they now remind her of a Thatchel THEY LIKE ME MORE!! lol, just

kidding. ;-)

Sarehptar: Ooooh... New name, very cool! Um. Memories? ::laughs:: Actually,

she knows exactly who he is. ::laughs more::

Hououza: Wow, thanks! I'm glad you think it is interesting, and the luck

has come in handy: I have found all my classes! ::pleased::

insaneoveranime: Hmm. See, I pronounce it "SE-SHA", but I have a feeling

that that is probably not right... Oh, well. Little late now!

Ye-Won: Hey, thank you! I'm trying my best to make it descriptive without

being overly boring! Glad to know that someone appreciates it!

Charna: Nah, s'all good. And you still have summer vacation... NOT

FAIR!!::cries::

Ginsing: "Else" shall never happen to me, for 'tis updated! Pokes?

PokepokepokepokepokepokepokepokeBONK! ::laughs madly::

Anime Goil: Ok, I've updated! Did you? I think you did, but fanfiction wouldn't let me review it... Sorry! I'll go try to review now, I swear!!

Lisasa: Updated, just like I said I would! Yeah, I liked the thing with the dress too... I believe I thought of it (and several of my other ideas,) in Germany! Call my cell sometime... We need to compare schedules!

ACK! This is being posted right after my second day of being a freshman o.o ---

Disclaimer: I, sadly enough, don't own Dragon Knights. ::long sigh:: Oh, but what fun I, TQOTFG, would have if I did... ::pictures and cackles evily::

Wooden floorboards groaned under his feet as Rath padded softly over them, heading for the false sanctuary of his small room.

His time at school had been normal, apart from those first few minutes. By the end of the day, he had been ready to accept it as just a dream; nothing more.

But then again, it had been just a dream that started this twisted ball rolling.

His hand grasped the cool round metal of the door handle, and he turned it, opening the passage into his private chambers.

Dropping his school bag on the floor, Rath sat on his bed, falling backwards into the warmth of the chilling shadows, muted laughter ringing through his deaf ears.

His face turned to stare blankly out the window, amber eyes dull as the thick rain clouds rushing across the sky outside.

Suddenly a flicker of life dropped into them, eating away their tarnished silver coating.

Rath jerked his head up, staring around his room.

Something was out of place.

He had noticed it when he had entered, but it hadn't really registered until that moment.

Standing slowly as if in a trance, even more so than usual, he strode across the floor, stopping when he reached the wall opposite his bed.

A shelf stood there, rising high above the wooden paneling below, stretching to reach the ceiling above.

At eye level on the second highest shelf sat a small and faded crimson toy; a dragon.

But there too lay the seeping of visions, of tear drenched memories and shadows streaked with laughter as if it was a dust-flecked beam of sunlight, streaming in through a rose stained window, etching their memory into the darkness of the forgotten breathing of past guises.

And it was here betwixt the dulled, false reality and whispering mirage that Rath found what had unsettled him so.

For although the shelf was coated with a thick layer of dust, the tainted powder did not lie on the dragon, instead stopping where it's worn material touched the thin plywood of the shelf.

Wide eyes stared with amazement at the creature, glowing embers tentatively rekindling for the first time in almost a decade where they had once flared with a life of their own.

Then startled dark orbs met their beaded jet counterparts.

A flash of lightning fire.

And Rath found himself standing outside his room, wide eyed, with a shaking hand positioned over the doorknob.

He took a deep breath, not wanting to risk his flawless mask cracking and tearing away to reveal the next layer he wore beneath the slick tinting of his swirling shield.

When he finally opened the door, he was expecting nothing like what he found within.

A wooden shelf, and, seated atop it, a small red Dragon, completely covered in dust.

I think this will be the last chapter focused primarily on the flipping of the world from fantasy back to normality, although this will still be mentioned, as it is a large part of this plot line. I hope it isn't getting too repetitive, however, and can assure you that the next chapter will be the catalyst of the story, and will start to explain more of what's going on. This is probably a good thing; since I'm really surprised I haven't received a review yet asking that question. Only I've been expecting one with more graphic wording. ::looks around nervously::


	5. The Pull of Remembrance,

Whoa, my God. This has been FAR too long in between updates. So sorry to anyone out there who's actually still reading this. :bows, Japanese style, regardless of the fact that the only bits of Japanese culture she knows are from three years of failed Japanese lessons in elementary school and a couple of friends in Japanese 1:

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. I do force... Er... Convince people to read them, however.

Warning: Possible confusion, as the last update was many, many months ago. More confusion coming up as I am finally thinking of adding in a plot and attempting to explain things.

:n:

Rath's hand loosened it's grip on his school bag, and it fell to the floor, shaking his room and mimicking his reality.

It was, he looked around, completely normal. There was nothing to clue him in on what fate had plotted behind his veiled eyes.

But it was raining.

The thick drops of water hit the closed glass panes of his window, just as he had seen though his half-dream.

Rath cast an unsteady glance into the heavy gray shroud outside his house, taking a tentative step forward. He took another, and shortly found himself standing directly in front of the transparent barrier, a pale hand reaching out to press against it.

His skin touched the glass, sharp as ice, and he found himself immobilized as past memories flooded his body in a flickering wave of tension.

An outline of a young girl, black wavy hair flowing loosely behind her, thin black dress clinging to her skinny frame etched itself onto the backs of his staring eyes.

His brow suddenly furrowed.

No. That couldn't be right.

Her hair had been brown.

:I'm fifteen for a moment, caught in between ten and twenty...:

Rath mentally jumped a foot, rounding about and staring, startled at the alarm clock radio nestled next to his plain white bed.

:...And I'm just dreaming--:

A long white hand snatched out and Rath turned it off, perhaps a little more forcefully then he would normally have.

"I must have misset it."

His words hung shakily in the still air, the pattering of cold rain doing nothing to erase their essence.

Letting his mind... No. Forcing his mind to travel back, he found himself staring once more at an all too familiar face.

It was the same girl, he was sure of it.

But why would that matter so greatly? So it was her. She had moved back. So what? Why did it matter?

It certainly wasn't latent feelings that were causing his unconscious to work into overtime.

Rath looked out the window once more, staring up at the sky.

It seemed that he was suddenly standing at the joint connecting two separate worlds: the land of reality, of his present; and the one of his childhood. The latter of the two had been washed away long ago, leaving him with only faded memories.

And now that he thought about it, he did not wish to investigate them.

However, it seemed that that was currently his only choice.

Abandoning all thoughts of school and homework and teenage life, he focused his attention out the clear wall of glass, searching for answers within the haze.

He knew it was pointless. Watching the rain fall would tell him nothing. Nothing he wanted to hear. Nothing logical could be seen in his forgotten life. And yet...

Perhaps an explanation, one long over due, would be found.

:--Counting the ways to where you are...:

The radio struck up it's haunting song once more, and this time Rath did nothing to stop it.

:n:

Whoo, God. As before... That took me WAY too long to get out. Sorry about that.

Happy holidays!

Animegoil: Thanks! Um, yeah. Basically. lol. Hopefully you've gotten it somewhat figured out. I don't. :shifty eyes:

Hououza: Yeah. Nice way of explaining that. Sorry this took so long.

insaneoveranime: Um, not sure when it will be ready, actually. We've gotten the site, but we're still getting the stuff... Thank you! :flattered:

Lady D: ...WHAT?! :spazzing about the random bit with Nadil:

Lisasa: Um. Let's pretend that this was "soon", shall we?

Charna: :laughs: Freshman power!! Yeah!!

Capella: Chapter names? Thanks. Everyone needs something to obsess about(Thatchelthachelthatchelthatchel...)! He'll notice everyone else, too. But... You know how Rath is... Stupid Cesia-obsessive Rath... ...Um. I don't mean that. Don't hurt me, anybody...

Alyson Metallium: :loves your name: Yesss!! Awesome name! Not only is your first name "Allyson"(Or, well... "Alyson"), but your last name begins with an "M"! :highfives: Nice job!

Peridot-chan: As before... I still love your name.:happy sigh: And yes. This is your Christmas present. Notice when I uploaded it? All for you. Btw... I meant to update before, like... In September, or something... But I forgot... Thanks for reminding me that I needed to work on this!


	6. The Taunt of the Past,

Disclaimer: I want, but I don't own. Don't taunt me like this, God!

Warnings: Not much. A fast update! :D

A/N: Okay. This is a quick update. I was supposed to update my other stuff first, but... I got on this Gundam Wing high, and didn't know what to do about it since I didn't have any current stories to work on, and I didn't have any ideas for a new one, so... I just started working on this instead.

:n:

Her face swam through his mind like so many tall and flickering white candles, giving off a last burst of heat and light before falling into billowing gray smoke.

Rath saw, for the first time in eons, teasing laughter glowing in her dark eyes. The contours of her face were still round with youth in his image, her fair skin unnaturally pale.

The drizzle turned into a tourent.

He watched as the girl he was seeing as though through a sheet of opaque silver suddenly took on a life of her own. She blinked, smiled, and stood, her body materializing out of the colorless void around her.

Then, so slowly that the change was not at first apparent, she grew.

Her height stayed the same, and if asked, Rath wouldn't have been able to give a clear answer as to what he envisioned. Just that where there had once been a round-faced little girl, her long black hair falling in rippling waves down her back, now stood an older figure. A teenaged girl of about his age. Her face was sharper, her eyes slimmer, but it was without a doubt the same person, only aged by a decade.

A half-blink in the life of a star.

The cold began to cut more sharply into Rath's hand, and he became aware that frost was appearing around it, drawing jagged patterns on the window glass.

He made no move, however, and stayed still, touching the iced plane in front of him.

Her face was inscribed upon it.

He couldn't leave now. Not now, when he had finally come to the conclusion that something was happening. Not when he had finally allowed his defenses to slip, just wide enough to catch a glimpse of what settled for his past.

Even as he thought this, as his resolution grew stronger, he became increasingly aware that his mental image was no longer just that.

The glass he had used as a parchment to project his memory onto had responded with an image in turn.

Squinting through the frost that appeared unnaturally fast, obscuring his vision, Rath made out the shape of his lawn.

There was a girl standing there.

Startled and with a rising feeling of apprehension, Rath suddenly spun about, racing for the door.

Sprinting down the hallway, it was a mere few seconds before he thrust open his front door, stopping, frozen, in his tracks.

A small corner of his mind pointed out through the haze that he had been rather hoping it would all come out to a hallucination. A dream.

But there she was, now facing away from his room, towards him.

Her hair, he dimly noted, was brown again, long and straight as he had originally remembered.

They shared a joint gaze for a pause in the earth's rotation, her irises sealed, but his wide and questioning. The only answer he was to get was a cold collected stare, without the slightest flicker of empathy or hope.

Then the almost tangible line between then was broken, inexplicably, by her. She glanced towards the ground, fighting some inner demon back.

Encouraged, Rath took a step forward, his height dropping as he moved off the upper landing to a lower cement stair.

She looked up at him once more, and he was stopped in his tracks once again by what he saw.

There had been no change.

Her eyes still held glinting chips of ice, pieces of hail.

"Of snow," a muted voice rang in his mind.

It was stomach clenching, but he found himself physically unable to turn away from the sight, drawn in by a morbid fascination. Rath watched as she slowly and calmly raised her left arm, bending it, and tilting it's hand towards her lips. Her first two fingers brushed her skin, and her mouth opened in a whisper, one he was unable to hear through the falling of endless torrents of ice cold water.

"Wind."

Out of the chain mail curtain separating them, a gust struck up, quickly raising to hurricane speeds. It tore past him, catching him off guard and sending him slamming to his knees on the stone hard false ground beneath him. Swirling around her, whipping her hair, her dress, it's speeds rose impossibly faster, condensing and taking on an almost visible appearance.

Then a flame-burst of red tore across his vision, and when Rath was able to see clearly once more, she had vanished, taking with her the eerily animated winds.

Rath stepped forward as the rain dimmed, and returned to it's misty drizzle, wandering out into his dew covered lawn. He stood where she stood, staring out into the empty street.

A dry laugh caught in the back of his throat, and he realized what he was doing. He really was loosing it. Or maybe... He shook his head. No need to conjure up an impossible fiction to explain... To explain what? This? None of what had happened in the one day would be able to be satisfactorily explained away with rules and logic. It required...

"Tales of adventure, harrowing conflict, and enlightening moments of self-realization."

The words hung on the still air, and Rath let a note of shock enter his shell. He hadn't meant to speak aloud. And he didn't know where the words had come from.

Unwilling to search for more answers and come up with more uncomfortable questions, Rath made it a point not to investigate his surroundings any further as he made his pointedly steady way back inside the house.

If he had looked, however, he would have noticed the thick mat of violet clouds hovering miles above, drenched in black light and swirling almost unnoticeably.

He also would have noticed a pair of jet black eyes, much like the small buttons they masqueraded as, watching him intently through the thinning frost on his bedroom window.

:n:

:stretches: Wow, that... Did not take a very long time. Okay! I have the next chapter planned out, too, and... :grins: It's something a couple people have been asking for.

Capella: It is a good song. Look for it on ITunes. n-n I like chapter names too... If only because it makes it easier for me to figure out what chapter of a fic I was on last. Oh, did you ever read "A Barrel of Laughter, a Vale of Tears"? Good book. There's this one chapter called "Night of the Frogs", and.. Well... :cracks up: You really need to read it. At least that chapter.

Kat: See, see?! It was NOT another four months! :pleased with self:

Alyson Metallium: :snickers: Cesia came. And made him more confused. XD

Charna: ...That sounds like "It's a Beautiful Life"... That was a good/sad movie. Only because we watched it in 6th grade, all the boys kept making rude comments about how he should have died... :sniff: And thanks!

The Shadowess: :shifty eyes: Okay... Maybe he is going crazy... But in that case, Cesia's a stalker. And Rune's gonna appear delusional/obsessed in the next chapter. Yeah... Let's just stick with the non-crazy version, if only to make things easier.

:n:

Aw, c'mon. Tell me how I did. If it sucked, I won't ever know until you tell me...


	7. Memories Uttered

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights or the song "100 Years(To Live)". Remember? I said this already...

Warnings: Other characters besides (gasp) Cesia and Rath! ...Oh, and this fic has been pretty much "g" so far. But, in a moment of Rath-ness, there's some brief swearing, okay? Just as a note.

Rath awoke.

He was lying on top of his bed covers, apparently having passed out the previous night before being properly ready to fall asleep.

He sat up in bed, running a hand through his messy black hair, blinking in the dim light.

The shades were drawn.

Rising before his alarm went off, he unplugged the machine, knowing that he would have to reset the time later that day.

But then again, who needed to know which of the many hours and countless minutes of his life it was?

He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, blurring the dusty haze.

It must be nearly time to leave the restraints of his home once again for the tedious procedures of school.

And he found himself strangely torn, on the one hand hoping for reality to slip back into it's soul-numbing existence, and on the other praying, pleading, for a change.

For everything to just slip away into echoes, their replications fading into the distance. For the curtain of this sanity to fall back, revealing what a small part of him still hoped to be true.

A shake of a pitch-toussled head, and he stood, walking towards the small bathroom attached to his bedroom. A pause at the frame, and he entered, sliding the door shut behind him.

Outside his room, a plain wooden hallway stood free of dirt and grime. A soft padding, a muted clink of claws on polished wood, and a large white dog appeared. Walking past the almost hauntingly plain walls, he came to a stop at the house's entrance, limpid eyes staring at the door pleadingly.

"Crewger."

It was a whisper in the dunes of time: A faint voice, like the draft from rustling pages of an aged tome.

And for a moment, a man stood behind the beast, brushing a strand of white-blonde hair from his pale eyes, a taunt smile playing on his lips.

The hound turned, almost lazily, to look at the spector, and the door swung open on well oiled hinges.

Crewger's head snapped back, and he trotted contentedly outside into the biting dew lying on the grass.

The world flickered.

Rath stepped out of his bathroom, hair slowly shedding water onto his new clothing. An invisible barrier seemed... Altered in the air surrounding him. Not like his previous shattering and sudden clearing, but simply... Changed from before.

A drop of lemon seemed to circle in the mists.

And he paused, the darkness of his gaze shrinking in on itself into a small velvet drop.

A silver sheen accompanied the almost-scent, and Rath gave a barely unnoticeable shiver.

There was a strange feeling of deja vu flitting upon the early morning light.

Not quite like the previous day, it felt... Firmer. More solid, almost. Tangible.

Like a long forgotten reading, brought into remembrance by a friendly word or line.

Lyrics.

At that thought, Rath jerked his sight to the radio, breath catching as he realized, once again, that without it's flow of power it would be impossible for it to play the morning sports report, much less a song.

And yet it seemed as though anything were possible. As though the merest whisper could set the universe spinning out of control...

"Hoy!"

Rath quite literally jumped six inches off the floor.

"Hey, Rath!"

He spun about, momentarily out of place.

"Who...?"

Then his confused mind placed the voice as belonging to one of the two boys who walked with him to their local school. That's right...

Thats.

As the name clicked into place, so did the rest of his surroundings. School. That was right. He needed to get to school. Casting about for his bag, he spotted it next to his door. He snatched it up and hurriedly made his way to the entrance door. Then he stopped, utterly confused.

The door was blown wide open.

From his vantage point at the top of his stairs, he could see the two teenagers waiting by his front lawn, the blonde leaning over and petting an icy white dog.

Rath was utterly stunned.

"Crewger!"

At his name, the hound turned around, staring at him cooly.

"Crewger?" Rune smiled. "I didn't know you had a dog, Rath."

"Uh..." The mists swirled, "Yeah."

Rath closed his eyes firmly, trying to shake the feeling of light headedness from his being.

"C'mon," the third boy said, somewhat impatient, "Let's go."

Rath nodded, opening his eyes from the dulled violet lights. "Right. Right... Crewger!" He called again, stepping aside as the dog brushed past him, back into the house.

He shut the door.

Locked it.

Crimson swirled in his eyes for a moment, a tarnished bronze key glowing in the back of his consciousness.

Thats stretched, speaking once again when Rath walked up to them and turned onto the frostbitten cement path.

"Weird weather, huh?"

A slow nod. Weather. Rath chided himself. Just the weather. Nothing supernatural, nothing abnormal, nothing special, nothing to set him a-fucking-part from any of the other freaks in this world.

The key slid into ice-cold fingers, the flames shoved back into a tiny chest of worn emotions.

Just the weather.

The elf absentmindedly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind his ear, long fingers running down the cool blunt face of his sword. He shook his head, clear blue eyes hardened at the ground.

"It's because the faeries are gone."

Yes, just the weath... Wait.

"...What?" Rath tore his darkened eyes back up to his friend.

Rune sent him a puzzled glance, shifting the weight of his bag from one shoulder to another, hands subconsciously running over the straps.

"I said, it's because of the cold front we're having. Why so startled, Rath? It was on the news last night."

The black haired boy continued staring, completely bewildered.

And a small key, dirty gold in color, slipped noiselessly from his grasp.

o.o Hey... It's actually starting to get a plot... I mean, it's always had a plot, but now the plot is understandable... Ish... ...I'm confusing myself.

Kat Ho: ...Eh... Because I'm lazy like that? Wait no more:strikes pose: For I have finally updated!

Yume-chan:shrugs: I just tend to have fun with this one fic. ...Er. And SSY. :sweatdrop: And I don't think you are mean. :O

Kat: That was actually understandable. Good, considering it was all dark and shit... :snaps fingers: I REMEMBER THAT! That was AWESOME. Great timing and everything. And all the leaves just made the effect even better. n-n

FireyFlames: ...Thank you?

Hououza:shrugs: Well, I don't think he's crazy, either. ...Um. Not like that, at least. Actually, I really like your explanation. You hear that, people? Anyone confused, go read this guy's review:O

Capella: I get it. That is irritating. o.o And you do stay up late... What, you sleep during class, or something:trying to figure it out: And you should read it. It's a really fast read, got random pictures, and is bloody hysterical. Plus, that chapter is just one looooong rant. XDD

Charna: ...I just realized I left you out.had to take down chapter, then upload again Anyway, snow? Blizzard? Lucky!

Peridot-Chan: As always, LOVE the name. And Cesia with brown hair reminds me of Cesia from Book 1. ...Mainly because that was when she looked like that. :stating the obvious: Was this too long:nervous: But then again, I actually like your idea. It'd probably be very helpful. nn;

Fairy Tail Faerie: Thanks! And... Nah, I'm sure that's not it. ;)

Kitty2Satan: o-o Really! Wow, thank you. Yeah, I know it's short. My bad... :is lazy like that:

You all know what to do. I actually wrote a non-filler chapter! Doggie wants biscut!


	8. Of Nightmares Unmasked

Disclaimer: G'damnit, I WISH I owned Dragon Knights. On a really, really, really kickass note, however, Book 19 officially comes out on my birthday!

Warnings: Oddness, as always. ...I wrote this during a PE lecture. n-n;

:n:

Rath watched as, like before, his two friends walked along in front of him, their talk filtering back to his ears.

He wasn't paying them much attention.

His mind was elsewhere, drawing down the flashing lightning that was soaring through his thoughts.

Pleading with it for answers. For revelations, for explanations, for anything. For memories of her face. Of the dream that had previously plagued him, but that now seemed so distant.

The light flashed through the dim, the glare unexpectedly bouncing back and glossing over his eyes.

"...Stupid! This is just another brick you're adding to the wall you've built between yourself and the rest of..."

"...Thought you were a threat, Rath, I would have killed you just like any other..."

"...Techically, you did die. But I brought you back, so it doesn't..."

The electrical surges struck home, literally shocking him out of his revive.

The inane chatter of the boys before him wandered muffled upon the early air.

A small drop of black silver metal hung as a chain, a weight, a promise around his neck: A sharp lightning rod.

Rath shook his head, glaring at the ground.

What was going on?

The gray cement bore back solidly, unwilling to provide him with answers either true or false by winking into an alternative universe.

He shook his head again.

In the dead of the night, in the shifting mists... That was when one could see visions and apparitions. Under this morning sun, proof of the past rains seemed distant.

The girl...

"Cesia," his mind whispered, "Her name was, is, Cesia."

The girl... Was she real?

Of course she was. She was his half-forgotten friend from childhood. But was the figure from the previous night solid? No.

No...

A brush of natural wind touched his cheek, and Rath found himself shivering.

He didn't know anything anymore.

And yet her face still swam through his dusk-tainted vision. White-laced with fog, he tried to dredge up the detail. It was no longer of any use to ignore the signs. To remember would be to protect. To remember would be to halt the changes.

He felt his grip tighten upon a plee for an unwavering world.

"...Are you hiding something from..."

Phrases poured through, but it was her face he wanted to see.

Not that he wanted to see her, he mentally emphasized, But that she was the one solid picture avalible. Not that he missed her eyes, but that she would be a start to putting together the confusion. He remembered her. His sight was blurred, however.

Where the images used to flow unwillingly fast, there was naught but a wall of thin ice.

Rath paused, then tentatively reached out with his mind's eye and brushed invisible fingers against it, feeling for a weakness.

A scream tore across his dreamscape, a rush of musty cloaks and ash and drying touch and endless hallways and a faint crowd of figures vanishing into the sky.

A low laugh echoed almost tangibly in the eerie void, and the boy recoiled, mind and body numbed with a deep chilling unnamed fear.

The shock tore Rath from his metallic cage, breaking the self implanted defenses. Crimson-tinged eyes blinked open, his pupils mere shards in the distance.

His breath caught in his throat.

A sharply towering black castle stood before him, pointing menacingly to a bloody sky.

He felt his body tense, and felt the pull of wires as the deadly clarity of the vision retreated back into a silver oppression.

Mists swirled.

And when the laden fogs settled, the phantasm had slid away, and he found his anxious gaze darting over a small cluster of beige buildings and poorly cultivated grass.

Rath paused.

He had arrived at school.

:n:

Hououza: As before, I like your explanation the best... And after you sent that review, I actually had to sit down and think this plot through. :sweatdrop: I'm a horrible planner, but your pointing out that there were two basic ways this could go forced me to get a rough timeline down on paper. Some where. ...I'm a horrid organizer, as well. :bigger sweatdrop: As always, thanks for the luck and wishes!

Capella: In this fic? Only to Rath. Although I've got little mental versions for just about all the other main characters. They're pretty much all the same, with some minor focus differences(ie: Lykouleon's looks more at Raseleane and the Officers and knowledge of a "Draqueen" and that sort of thing...). XD That sounds like a -great- video... :SARCASM: We watched this one in bio about Cane Toads. It was great... :giggles: There was this old man who prattled on about how they were "lovely, lovely creatures" when mating... :cracks up:

Peophin-chan: "Ohohoho" always reminds me of... Aska? I can't remember how to spell her name... That young princess person from Rayearth. n-n; Oh! I hope your performance went well!

Charna:is hot in the airless room: Gaaaah... I want a blizzard... :cries:

Peridot-chan:munching contentedly on biscuit: I love Plot Bunnies, don't you? n-n And I still say you really should lock me in a room. I'd actually appreciate that... :nods: Of course they do! They both have... Uh... A "f" in them... :shifty eyes:

:n:

:pleased, for she has finally blocked out the end:

So, uh... Review... And stuff... Yeah. :sweatdrop:


	9. FireBursts of Fear,

Dedication: To Kat D.(Lady Dragonnaine) and Kat H.(Lady Kilgorn). Because I love you guys and your names match. o-Oa

Small-Kat for letting me force you into DK, for drawing me that picture, and for actually getting an account. :impressed: I have this mental image of you literally kicking Pono's ass, and when I spun around and dropped you, so I'll just end this before saying anything too weird...

Dragon-Kat for dying your hair like Cesia; for rightfully claiming her as your signature character; and for many, many hilarious and sexy rps/ficletts/unfinished shit. Bierrez has made an appearance just for you. And Cesia. And the fact that he used to go to school with her. And date her. ...You get it. :sweatdrop: You're a great friend/person/sexy fox. Er, cat. As before, you get it. Mucho, mucho, mucho amo and voles. ...And Rath wants to know if Cesia's got another bag of candy/distractions with her.

Disclaimer:dancingdancingdancing: It's my birthday. Will someone please give me the ownership of Dragon Knights as a present?

Warnings: Minor swearing in dedications. XD Oddity, new characters.

A/N: Bierrez:glomples: He won't be in here long, but he -will- serve an important role:squeezes tighter:

:n:

As Rath regained his breath, he looked around the re-dimmed world. And noticed with a shock that his two companions had vanished.

No, he corrected himself as a drop of panic etched itself into the back of his throat, They hadn't vanished. They were standing in front of one of the nearer buildings, talking with a boy Rath hadn't seen before. As he strolled up to rejoin them, the newcomer glanced up at him with a pair of hauntingly sharp green eyes.

"Oh. Hey, Rath," Rune spoke up as his friend faltered, "This is Bierrez; He's part of the exchange program. The boy nodded shortly, and Rath glanced over his clothing searchingly. They were normal, however, a plain school uniform, deep blue and at odds with the other's bright orange hair.

A band of tarnished twisted silver was placed on his upper arm.

Rath inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment of the other's presence, a slow feeling of growing discomfort edging upon him. A faded knowledge, a vague guilt and remembrance and discomfort and...

He started as those vibrant green eyes met his own once again.

So faint it was almost nonexistent, a whispering hatred, beat upon on all sides by the other dredged up emotions.

Rath shook his head, jerking his gaze to the ground.

"That's the bell." Rune remarked, cheerfully turning to look at the largest of the gathered buildings. "Shall we head in?"

As Rath walked slowly, trying to fade back into the wavering mists, Bierrez fell into step alongside him. They seemed to be ignored by the other two, and the dark drew strong around both their forms.

Bierrez glanced at the other boy from the corner of his eye, then dropped his voice to a bare dry whisper.

"It's been a long time, Rath Illuser."

For some reason the speaking of his name kindled a burning anger within the black haired boy. He was stopped from retorting, however, by the equally shocking realization that his hands, previously held loose by his sides, were shaking.

He was afraid.

But that was stupid, he told himself furiously. What was the problem? Thats or Rune had probably told this demon his full name; it wasn't as though they knew why they shouldn't.

Wait...

Demon?

Bewilderment overcame anger and fright, and Rath glanced at the student walking beside him.

"...Who are you?"

Bierrez smirked.

"What? The last time we talked like this, you knew precisely who I was. In fact," his voice grew softer, "I was the one who didn't recognize you."

A flash of fury burned bright in Rath's mind.

No.

Not fury.

An almost uncontrollable urge, a need, a fear.

There was a clash of metal upon metal, of iron bars straining at their caging, of two swords locked in combat. And Rath suddenly clasped at the pendant around his neck.

...Rath...

Rath...

Rath.

The voice suddenly sounded in his heart, causing a skipped beat.

"Bierrez!"

He spun around, just in time to see a whirl of long black hair and a flash of white and blue material as Bierrez was tackled off to the side, a young girl hugging him soundly.

"Idiot! I was looking for you! You were missing yesterday, so they thought you'd gotten lost! Where were you?"

"I was in a different classroom. What does it matter to you, Cesia?" He grinned cockily, a complete 180 of his previous mood.

Cesia?

Rath took a second look at the girl.

Her hair was black and she was clad in a modern school uniform instead of her floating black dress, but her eyes were the same. They were still teasing, protecting, holding life and pushing back the fear. And a flash of clasping hands darted through his mind, of ragged breaths and stone cliffs and pain shooting through his body and a promise to...

To... It faded away as soon as it had appeared, and he blinked, bewildered.

Coming back to himself, he saw that she had gone and Bierrez was alone, looking at him in a self-satisfied way.

"Do you remember now?"

The boundaries of the world shook, shattering, merging. White mists swirled into an illusion of foundations and normality and a desperate soul-twisting solitude.

And Rath saw, clearer than ever before, his own hands, reaching out slowly around the other's neck. Felt the jagged breathing pulsing beneath his fingertips and the dulled, painfully resigned stare in the face before him.

Felt the crack of fragile bone snapping beneath his grasp.

But instead of the bloodthirst he had expected, there was something unidentifiable. Pity, perhaps. Mixed with something akin to admiration and jealousy and a blinding resignation of his own.

Then the memory faded, and he found his hand clenched tight in the material of his shirt, clasping tightly the stone under it's material.

Those damned green eyes stared knowingly down at him, and Bierrez softly laughed, the almost harsh seemingly magnified by the empty echoing hallways and endless gray mesh of shadows.

He spoke, a mere whisper, but it burned into Rath's mind.

"Lost in a memory."

:n:

:coughs: Actually, I've decided to blend together the two ideas of this experience just happening to Rath and this "merging" happening to everyone. Bierrez is in for one more chapter. He'll explain everything then. n-n;;;

Capella: I like the random remembering of lines. :loves lines: And.. :sweatdrop: I'm too lazy to actually write out the entire poem all at once... I just add a line every time I have to update. XD

Hououza: About as possible as for a girl to be described as slacker. And since I know a couple female slackers, counting myself... Very possible! non Dream... Dream, dream, dream... :decided she randomly likes that word: I assume you're talking about handwriting... :sweatdrop: I can read mine... But when I pass notes, people usually end up coming up to me later and ask me to decipher it. :mega sweatdrop:

Peophin-Chan: Yes! I got it right:uberhappy: Aw! Lion King! And you missed it:cries:

Charna: ...Oh. Good point... Hmm, okay... I just want it to be a bit cooler, then. It's so freaking hot. Well, not at the moment, but that's just because I'm indoors in the nice air conditioning. :luffs:

:n:

:coughs: It's my birthday. See that review button? You know you want to...


	10. Turn to Torrents of Rage,

Disclaimer: I own... Noooooothiiiiing...

Warnings: Same as usual. n-n

A/N:shifty eyes: Is that an actual PLOT? Homaigod... And wtf is up with all the dialogue? o-Oa

:n:

Rath's eyes narrowed, his hand biting tighter into the material of his shirt.

"What do you mean?"

The air seemed dulled, stifling, locked into place.

Bierrez remained silent, bright jade eyes glinting with an emotion Rath could not quite place.

Annoyance, perhaps. Or determination.

"'Lost in a memory'?" Rath questioned once more, taking a painfully slow step forward, noting the sharp echo of his foot on the tiled ground. A wavering feeling swept through him: a note of boots running lightly down marbled floors, sunlight sprawled across the ground.

"What do you mean, Bierrez?" he paused, struggling with himself, weighing the need for more information against the parting with words. "I... I remember you," Rath stated slowly, "I remember you, but I don't know why."

A tinge of bittersweet amusement flickered over the other's face, and Rath was suddenly certain that Bierrez too, knew what he was speaking of and was at that very moment letting their last meeting wash through his core.

But when he spoke, it was simple: concise.

"Yes."

Rath was caught slightly off guard by the blunt answer and found himself pushing back words: a rambling, raving, lunatic pleading that was trying to wretch itself from his mouth.

"...Yes?"

"I remember you," Bierrez stated calmly, leaning against the cool wall behind him. "I know you better than I think you realize."

Black mesh fluttered in the nonexistent breeze.

"What do you mean?"

It was all Rath could do to keep his voice from wavering with an inexplicable excitement.

"This has something to do with Cesia, doesn't it?" He was startled to find himself talking. He didn't talk openly like this, especially not in front of someone he had just met, no matter how eerily familiar. "It's about her... All this started when I met her a couple days ago."

"When you met her..." Bierrez raised a slender eyebrow in surprise. "Rath, don't tell me you haven't put it together yet."

The sun outside slipped behind an indigo cloud, its light suddenly dimmed, paled.

Lost crimson eyes met almost taunting green ones, and Bierrez spoke, his voice sounding distant, as if whispering from ink-shielded pages.

"Does this involve Cesia? Yes... Yes, I suppose you could say she has something to do with it. But is it about her? No. She's merely a pawn in this game, Rath."

He watched as vibrant emerald eyes narrowed slightly, autumn light gleaming at their corners.

"You know her, Rath. Don't tell me you've forgotten her. You haven't. I can read it in your face: in the rush of blood to your cheeks, the faltering glances you give, the way her name is always caught upon your lips. But," the hallway seemed dimmer than it should be, Rath noticed faintly, even if the sun had dipped behind a cloud. "She isn't the reason for this... Commotion."

The empty hall vibrated with the tension.

"The reason for this, Rath..."

The words echoed in the still like pebbles thrown into the endless depths of black water.

Revival Water...

"...Is you."

Rath caught sight of the golden-haired demon toss his head back, laughing. Laughing... Through the numbing confusion tumbled a nagging thought that something was off. Something wasn't quite right, even more so than how none of this was right. More than how the sky was suddenly impulsive and people he had known all his life were acting out of the ordinary and faint distant memories were walking back into his life.

"The stakes are high and the price is your own sanity."

More than how buildings were changing, morphing...

"Look around you, Rath..." Bierrez's voice seemed suddenly smoother, somehow less human, "Your life is more like a Faerie Tale than you might think."

A surge of hatred whipped through the tauntly-pulled air.

"Nadil..." Rath heard himself growl, the unknown word -name?- bringing up an acidic lurch of fear.

The laughter deepened, casting off its last shreds of humor and taking on a purely sadistic tone.

He was vaguely aware of a crash of shattered glass; of the sudden heat from open, swirling flames; of an icy cold hand reaching out to take hold of him.

Then he heard his name called once, twice, and the dark cleared into a wavering mist.

Rune and Thats were standing beside him and for a moment he saw them as different. Taller, perhaps, and a little older. Rath was unable to put his finger on the exact change that had caused the sudden power and confidence each of them seemed to give off.

Then he blinked and the mirage was gone.

"Rath," a perfectly ordinary Rune turned to him, clear eyes showing nothing of the tumult that had just played forth.

"Yeah, I know," Rath brushed him off, slipping between the two and calmly walking down the hallway.

"I'm late to class."

:n:

Alison Metallium: Hey, does that end bit of your name mean anything:curious: And thanks for the b-day note! non

Peophin-chan: XD What is it with the chorus concerts, ne? XD Thank you!

Hououza: Thanks for the b-day wishes. n-n Hah, I suppose that is one benefit of having illegible handwriting. XD And I think you made sense. n-n

Yume-chan: Was the 29 in there for any reason? If so, I'll be sure to add it in in these things, but if it was just there because you needed to add numbers, I'll leave it out... :coughs: And I REMEMBER YOU:excited:

Peridot-chan: Thanks. n-n It's fun for me when people put their favorite lines... n-n Thanks for the happy b-day stuff!

Lazy Kitty:shifty eyes: I swear, it wasn't! And of course Cesia has to glomp Bierrez around the torso:O

Kat: LAND OF CHEAP MEDS! YOU ARE IN THE LAND OF THE CHEAP MEDS:still thinks that name is cool: Everyone here says "hi"! ...And some people say more than that. :sweatdrop: I'm keeping it at PG-13, though, so I'm not going to retell it. :smacks Rath, Solo, and Kai-Stern: (And thanks for the happy b-day note, but if you didn't tell me at sometime, I would have been very upset... T-T Mind, you WOULD have and DID tell me, so... XD)

Charna: Yeah, I've got awful skills at updating regularly. ...Wait, I don't think that made sense. XD Spring! ...Well... It's summer now... XDDD

Anonymous: I hope this can still be counted as "soon". :shifty eyes: It was only two months this time... Not four... XD And I know what you mean. :shifty eyes: I get that a lot. And I tend to agree. :shifty eyes: ...Why the hell am I still doing this, then? XD;

:n:

:sweatdrop: Wow. Um. That was so not how I originally intended this chapter to turn out. :mega sweatdrop, glances at keyboard warily: Uh... Well, did you like it:shifty eyes: I feel like I should be reviewing as well. I don't know where that came from... :sweatdrop:


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